The purpose of this assignment is to identify and explain major changes in the downtown landscape of St. Louis by exploring the Virtual City in the decades of the 1850s and 1950s. The assignment is divided into three parts. Each will require you to spend some time moving about in the 3-D environment and writing down some observations. Thus, your worksheet should be divided into three sections. For your convenience, the questions for this assignment are repeated at the end of the instructions. The entire exercise should be completed in one class period. Students should work in pairs.

Part I: Exploring Downtown in the 1850s

To begin, enter the Virtual City in the decade of the 1850s. Examine the city from an aerial perspective. Write down your observations. What do you notice about the arrangement of buildings and streets? What are the most outstanding physical features of the downtown?

Now descend to street level and take a short stroll. Why did you choose this particular place to land? What did you see on your short walk around the downtown? How did viewing the city from a street-level perspective add to your understanding of the downtown area?

Based on your brief tour of the 3-D city what assumptions can you make about the activities that took place in the downtown area during the 1850s?

Part II: Exploring Downtown in the 1950s

Return to the home page, enter the Virtual City in the 1950s, and repeat the same exercise as above. When you descend to street level, return to the same block you chose in the 1850s. As you write down your observations, pay careful attention to what has remained and what has changed in the downtown area since the 1850s.

Part III: Explaining Change

Now that you have visited the Virtual City in both the 1850s and 1950s, list three important changes that you observed in the appearance of downtown St. Louis. Using the hyperlinks on the buildings, try to find any clues that might help to explain the changes. Were there some buildings that you wanted to click on but couldn’t?

Review of Questions to be Answered

You should answer the following questions in full sentences on your worksheet:

1. Observations about downtown in the 1850s
a. From an aerial perspective, what do you notice about the arrangement of buildings and streets?
b. From an aerial perspective, what are the most prominent elements of the landscape?
c. Where did you decide to begin your street-level investigation and why did you choose that location?
d. What things did you notice at street level that were not observable from the aerial perspective? How did they contribute to a better understanding of the downtown area?
e. What sort of activities do you think took place downtown in the 1850s?

2. Observations about downtown in the 1950s
a. From an aerial perspective, what do you notice about the arrangement of buildings and streets? What has changed and what has remained the same since the 1850s?
b. From an aerial perspective, what are the most prominent elements of the landscape? What has changed and what has remained the same since the 1850s?
c. Upon returning to the same location you last visited, what things did you notice at street level that were not observable from the aerial perspective? How did they contribute to a better understanding of the downtown area?
What has changed and what has remained the same since the 1850s?
d. What sort of activities do you think took place downtown in the 1950s? How does this set of activities compare with what you noted for the 1850s?

3. Explaining Changes
a. List three important changes that you observed in the appearance of downtown between the 1850s and the 1950s.
b. Based on your investigation of the material linked to the buildings, what factors explain these changes?
c. What structures in the 3-D landscape would you have like to click on to retrieve more information? Why?